About the Plumb Line...

Plumb lines. Solid metal bobs suspended by substantial cords…their weight pulled taut by gravity. Primarily used to determine verticality. Sometimes used by to mark property lines.

My fascination with plumb lines and the bobs that hang at their ends began over a decade ago. Peering into my grandpa’s rusty toolbox after he died, I felt very drawn to the brass bob that lay

inside. I had no idea at the time what it actually was, but I knew I wanted it. In my hand the plumb bob felt smooth and cold, weighty and worn. Its shape was unique and not at all like the

other tools my husband was choosing at the same time. The tattered and dirty line by which it hung smelled of dirt and oil giving the impression it had been well used for a long, long time.

And it had.

Grandpa was a builder in his “spare time”. Having built numerous houses for family members and friends, Grandpa would have used his plumb line to make sure the foundation was placed

correctly on the lot. He may have used it to insure the straightness of the brickwork as each row was placed on the next to form exterior walls. His friends and sons may have used it too.

I liked that it had history. I loved that it was his.

Today it hangs in an old sewing machine drawer on a shelf in my office. For me, it’s a reminder to return to check my vertical alignment with God. I want the life I am building to be built in a

way that is straight and true. It prompts me to get a different perspective or to check the one I have. It reminds me to look back to the beginning…to check how far I’ve come…to recognize

where I might have gotten slightly off-course.

Similar to true north on a compass or a lighthouse beaming high above a rocky shoreline, it is a fixed point… a reference point… a starting place… a point to which I return so I can get my bearings and begin again. As a believer, one of my plumb lines is the truth of God’s Word laid out in scripture.

Things can get a little crazy and chaotic in this life. Schedules change. Jobs change. We move. We adapt. We grow. We will use the plumb line as a reference to draw our focus back to what is

important, right, and true. From that place, may we find the confidence to move forward together.